In defense of Fall of Númenor

The Fall of Númenor, which was released in 2022, is a book that features Tolkien’s work on Númenor. However, there have been questions about whether it is really necessary considering that a lot of the information you can also get from Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, History of Middle-earth, or letters of JRR Tolkien, aside from the new Alan Lee sketches.

Respectfully, I happen to like how all the work on Númenor is in one piece. After all, it was never meant to have exquisitely new material or be a fully comprehensive Second Age novel, nor is it to replace Tolkien’s other works. 

While it is introduced as the compilation of the events of the Second Age, arguably the other works weren’t necessarily made as such, even if they did include events in that time period.

With that logic, one can argue that Histories of Middle Earth IV is just a replica of The Silmarillion. And it is – it is an earlier version of it. But it shows progression of how the Silmarillion has changed over the years of Tolkien’s life. 

About the book

“The Fall of Númenor seeks to present, in a single volume, selections from JRR Tolkien’s posthumously published writings about the Second Age of Middle-earth…The intention is not to supplant these works, as each already stands as the definitive presentation of JRR Tolkien’s writings, with peerless, insightful commentary and analysis by Christopher Tolkien, but rather to provide extracts…that illustrate in the author’s own words the rich and tumultuous events of the Second Age as summarized by JRR Tolkien in his ‘The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)’ that appears as part of Appendix B in the Lord of the Rings in which is reproduced at the beginning of this volume.”

The publisher, Brian Sibley, mainly attempts to show further context into which works are related to one another, providing a more straightforward context for those who may need more time to understand the connections between the different works. While the other works mentioned basically told the history of Tolkien’s own words, Fall of Númenor is more about compiling the works to manufacture a story of Númenor. 

There are also notes provided at the end of the book for those wishing to delve deeper than what the text presents. 

Also, even if you have already delved deeper it is also useful to have a quick glance at where something came from. 

For example when the Three Rings are completed in Eregion in 1590, we get a glimpse of what Frodo and Gandalf were talking about concerning the One Ring, or Bilbo’s ring in the spring of year 3018 of the Third Age.

Thus it would make Gandalf summarize the history in chapter 2 of LOTR. 

“In Eregion long ago many Elven-rings were made, magic rings as you call them, and they were, of course, of various kinds: some more potent and some less. The lesser rings were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles – yet still to my mind dangerous for mortals. But the Great Rings, the Rings of Power, they were perilous.”

Galadriel and Celeborn

Many believe that this text left out important details on Galadriel and Celeborn. However, as great as they are, the Fall of Númenor was really meant to show what was happening in Númenor, and thus it will focus on the Númenóreans – presumably the Kings and Queens of Númenor and the Númenórean lines such as the Line of Elros. 

Galadriel and Celeborn represent a larger part of Middle-earth and sometimes were really not directly involved with the events of Númenor, and there was an entire section on them in Unfinished Tales. 

In that same time period we know that the power of Galadriel and Celeborn had grown in the Second Age when Sauron had withdrawn to Mordor especially considering her friendship with the Dwarves. 

Thus we would be directed to UT for a fuller understanding and their roles in different ages and time periods. 

The Lost Road

Finally, The Lost Road is in Histories of Middle-earth, Vol V. However, only the third and fourth chapters (along with parts of Christopher Tolkien’s commentary on The Lost Road, as well as Sibley’s own commentary) – were mentioned in order to keep the text centered around the events of Númenor while showing foreshadowings of Númenórean themes. 

It starts with a quote in the second chapter:

“There is many a thing in the West-regions unknown to men, marvels and strange beings, the land, fair and lovely, the homeland of the Elves, and the bliss of the Gods. Little doth any man now what long is his old age cut off from return.” (The Lost Road, ch 2)

However, it did miss the mention of Elendil’s name shortly thereafter. One possibility of that could be that  it probably didn’t have much to do with the events of Númenor, since he was offering to go back in time. Though it did mention the meaning of his name, which was also mentioned in the back of the chapter.

It did mention though, how it was based on an idea that CS Lewis wanted a space travel story and Tolkien wanted a time travel one as they had embarked on a challenge as friends and fellow members of the Inklings.